Deadlines, papers, finals, nausea, stress, anxiety. Welcome to finals week Fall of 2006!

Stress and anxiety are a part of the finals week experience. Whether you can weather these obstacles depends on how well you will do this week.

According to Ed de St.,”

Deadlines, papers, finals, nausea, stress, anxiety. Welcome to finals week for the fall 2006 semester!

Stress and anxiety are a always a part of the finals week experience. Whether you can weather these obstacles will determine how well you will do this week.

According to Ed de St. Aubin, associate professor of psychology, the best way to get through finals week is to keep exercising regularly, manage your time and try to maintain a standard eating and sleeping habit.

Students cut out on workout time because they feel like they should spend time studying instead, he said.

"Students decide to write their paper for 30 minutes instead of jog, when they could run and probably have more energy to write their paper later," de St. Aubin said.

Planning ahead is another way for students to avoid stress.

Students usually wait until after Thanksgiving to start thinking about finals, he said.

"But it's easier said then done," de St. Aubin said. "Some students do and they are not as stressful as the rest of us."

According to Stephen Saunders, associate professor of psychology, important strategies are to prioritize and prepare.

"Create a list of each task and its importance," he said. "Figure out when each test or project is due and what work needs to be done to complete it."

As part of the plan, decide how you are going to reward yourself after everything is done, Saunders said.

Saunders also offered advice for increasing students' effectiveness while studying.

"Use what psychologists call social support," he said.

Talk to your classmates and realize that you are not the only one enduring the week, he said.

Take regular breaks when you study, study for 50 minutes then take 10 off, he said.

"Mix up what you are studying because you could get burnt out on a specific topic," Saunders said.

Students also use caffeine to punch out that final paper at midnight.

Coffee can be used to substitute for sleep during finals week but according to de St. Aubin, it's not a good idea.

"There are changes in people's caffeine intake," he said. "So instead of drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, they drink two or three cups and it starts to mess with them."

The winter season can also take a toll on test takers.

"The shorter days have a psychological impact on people," de St. Aubin said. "Exposure to the sun is imperative to our health."

According to William Cullinan, associate professor of biomedical sciences, there has been no direct link between finals and depression, but the culminative stress over the semester can lead to depression.

He also said depression is not something that would develop over the short finals week.

According to Chris Daood, assistant director of the Counseling Center, students worry not only about the stresses of finals but also the holidays.

Holidays are stressful for a variety of reasons, he said.

"When you are at college you make your own decisions but at home there is a different set of rules for students to follow," Daood said. "Reacquainting yourself with family members that you may not want to see can also be stressful."

According to Daood, students should take advantage of resources to help them through the week.

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